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Pinellas Hope Service Day

(August 26, 2013) — For the second year, USF's MBA in Sport & Entertainment Management has teamed up with
the Tampa Bay Lightning and Majestic Athletic to organize a day of service at Pinellas
Hope, a tent shelter for the homeless in Clearwater. About 150 students and other
volunteers worked alongside residents sorting donations, mulching, painting, scrubbing,
and clearing outdoor areas.

The shelter is a part of Catholic Charities' Shelters of Hope program, which serves
more than 1,700 units of housing in the area. About 300 of those units are at Pinellas
Hope, which helps residents transition from homelessness with GED and other adult
education classes, clothing donations, and assistance in finding employment.

"It's our biggest service day of the year, and it looks like this year's turnout is
our biggest yet," said Jim Geary, program manager at Pinellas Hope. "This annual service
day keeps us afloat, we wouldn't be able to do what we do without these volunteers."

The shelter was awarded the Tampa Bay Lightning's Community Hero Award for 2011-2012.
"We're delighted to give financially, but even more delighted to have a big force
out here today helping. Our players volunteer, we volunteer, we want this to be a
part of what we do, which is why we've partnered with like-minded organizations like
USF's College of Business," said Elizabeth Frazier, vice president of philanthropy
and community initiatives for the Lightning.

The MBA in Sport & Entertainment Management is the result of a 2012 partnership between
USF, its College of Business, and the Lightning to create an industry-specific program
and develop opportunities for student internships in the field. Volunteering alongside
Lightning and Majestic employees is a natural extension of that partnership.

"Volunteerism is not only a huge part of our program but of the sports community itself,"
said student Katie Hatch. "It's a big part of what teams do, so it's preparing us
for what we'll be in for in the future as well."

Derrick Hutek, another Sport MBA student, agrees that this sentiment reflects a big
part of what the program represents. The sports industry relies on communities to
support their franchises, and in turn has an opportunity to give something back.

"You're dealing with paying customers in the sports industry, and people like those
in Pinellas Hope don't have that opportunity so this is a way to reach out to people
we wouldn't ordinarily get to interact with," he said.